Into The Darkness
by babe7878
Summary: I used to wonder how people got to the point of wanting to die but now, it's all starting to make sense. If you had asked me just a few months ago if I ever thought about killing myself, I would have said no, following it up with something like 'I'm too scared to die'. If you asked me the same question now though, the answer would be completely different.
1. Chapter 1: Everything's All Wrong

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with the WWE, I merely own Quinn O'Reilly.**

**Chapter 1: Everything's All Wrong**

_I used to wonder how people got to the point of wanting to die but now, it's all starting to make sense. I mean, even just the thought of committing suicide scared the hell out of me but now, now I understand how people get to the point where they don't want to live anymore, where there's nothing left in the world that feels like it's worth living for. If you had asked me just a few months ago if I ever thought about killing myself, I would have said no, following it up with something like 'I'm too scared to die'. If you asked me the same question now though, the answer would be completely different._

_To feel like you want to die doesn't necessarily happen right away, at least not with me anyways. I'm sure some people have trigger incidents, maybe a traumatic experience that they can't deal with anymore, or maybe a big life-changing event that leaves someone so desperate to escape their life that they decide they don't want to live anymore. _

_For me, it was neither. I can't exactly pin point an exact event, I just know that everything continued building up until one day I couldn't take it anymore. The sadness and loneliness in my life was too much to handle. The feeling of abandonment and rejection was overwhelming. Wait a second though; I didn't jump right to the idea of suicide, although I did play with it for quite a while. No, my plan consisted more of devising some sort of accident, causing enough harm to myself that I would be put in the hospital but not enough damage that I would die. _

_Ideas came to me all over the place, at all times of the day. While I was driving down the road and spotted a telephone pole, I'd find myself wondering what was stopping me from driving my car into thick wooden post and waking up in a hospital bed surrounded by people who loved me? At least I was hoping people would be there. The more time I spent alone though, the more I was starting to believe that no one really did care about me._

_Sure they all said that I was still their friend but no one was acting like it. The people I had become so close to were pushing me away, letting me sink deeper and deeper into my own, dark depression. Maybe if they had just been honest with me, things would have been different. I doubt it. It didn't matter. No one cared, no one bothered to try to talk to me about what was bothering me. No one gave a shit about what was going on. Even when I was surrounded by people who were supposed to be my friends, I still felt like I was all alone. I never asked for much, all I wanted was someone to say they cared._

_Crying myself to sleep was becoming a common occurrence. Shying away from social gatherings was starting to happen more and more, I mean why would I want to be around people who didn't care anyways, it seemed like the easier, logical choice. People brushing me off was happening over and over again, even those people that I honestly felt were my closest friends, those people who had previously promised not to abandon me. Those people turned out to be a major part of my downfall._

_My name is Quinn O'Reilly and this is my story._

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX**  
_

The slim brunette hugged her black jacket tighter against her taut body as she wandered aimlessly down the hall. She had just arrived back at the arena from her Christmas break vacation, which she had spent with her family but now, as the day passed by, Quinn was desperate to find someone to be her companion for the hyped up event that was New Year's Eve. It was already four o'clock in the afternoon and many of the other superstars whom she had come across already seemed to have plans, none of which involved her.

If she couldn't find anyone to be with for the night, it was going to be the second year in a row in which she spent the coveted midnight alone and upset. All she had wanted was for someone to invite her out with them, to feel wanted by anyone. Her best friend, Ted Dibiase, had already blown her off in order to spend the evening with his newest flavour of the week; some young blonde that had the brain capacity of a goldfish. Quinn was beginning to get used to being put on the backburner when it came to Ted, especially when he was trying to romance the newest conquest.

Cody Rhodes hadn't arrived back from Georgia in time, he wasn't even in contention for spending New Year's Eve with seeing as he was currently stuck at the airport back in his home state. Not that it mattered to Quinn, she figured he would have been tagging along with Ted, maybe getting him to set the young Rhodes up with one of the newest flavour of the week's friends. At least with him stuck at home though, he wouldn't be having an awesome New Year's either, with or without a girl and, as shameful as it was for Quinn to admit, knowing that Cody wasn't going to be having a grand ole time celebrating the beginning of a new year made her feel quite a bit better about her own situation.

The one person, however, who she was desperately hoping was free for the night was none other than Randy Orton. She had adored him to pieces, proclaiming they he was her best friend forever and in the beginning Randy easily accepted the job as well as the responsibilities. Lately, in spite of Randy's loyalty to the girl, Quinn was starting to give up on spending any sort of one on one time with him. Every time she suggested they go out and do something together, he always seemed to have an excuse, whether it be that he was already busy with one of the guys or that he had a date of his own. Randy moved from woman to woman faster than Quinn could keep track but that never seemed to bother her before, not until he started blowing her off completely. It wouldn't have been so bad but Randy had quit suggesting they hang out altogether a few months earlier, leaving Quinn to do the asking. It didn't seem to matter though, he was way too busy for her lately, at least that was what he told her.

Running a nervous hand through her straight, shoulder length, light brown hair, Quinn let out a shiver as a chill ran up her spine. Even if she was inside, she was still freezing cold, the winter atmosphere from outside seeping into her surroundings indoors. She was fully aware that it was winter outside but no matter how desperately she tried to get warm, her body was chilled to the bone, something that would only go away with a hot shower. Quinn had no plan for one of those, at least not until she found the man she was currently searching for, or maybe some form of company for the night.

Her brown eyes widened at the sight of him smiling. She figured he wasn't exactly smiling at her but it didn't matter, she had found him, ending her search. After wandering around the maze of hallways of the arena, she had finally set her sights on the Viper himself, none other than Randy Orton. He had on a jacket of his own, covering his heavily tattooed arms, something Quinn admired and could spend hours just staring at. Standing right next to him was the one and only John Cena, one of Randy's other good friends but someone he didn't see very often. That was what different brands could do to a friendship, Quinn was well aware of how hard it was for the two guys to actually spend some time together.

"Randy!" She called out, picking up her pace, her feet moving a little bit quicker as she moved towards him.

He jerked his head around and she swore she saw his smile falter when he realized who was calling for him. Even though the smile remained on her face, she had already felt the hurt welling up in her heart, a hurt that wasn't going to go away any time soon. It was when she finally came to stand next to him that she wondered what on earth she had done to warrant her closest friends not wanting her around anymore.

"Hey Quinn." Randy simply nodded at her.

"How are you Quinn?" John Cena asked, making his presence known.

She could tell by his tone that he genuinely cared about her well being but she knew enough not to take it personally. He seemed to care about most people and she wasn't anyone special to him, she was just another face in the crowd, a friend of a friend whom he only really knew because of association.

"I'm alright John, and you?" She asked back, if only to be polite. The real reason she had interrupted their conversation was because of Randy.

"Pretty good Quinn." He smiled.

Randy glanced from Quinn to John and then back to Quinn, letting the conversation fall into an awkward silence. John took note of the tension between the two of them and nodded towards Quinn, the smile still on his face. Raising his hand to wave at them, John turned around and began walking away from them, getting away from the tense atmosphere that only seemed to come around when Quinn showed up.

"What do you want Quinn?" Randy asked, his tone sounding harsher than he had planned, a tone that had not gone unnoticed by the brunette standing in front of him.

She stared at him for a few seconds, deciphering his mood. First his smile faltered at the sight of her and now he was standing in front of her speaking to her like she was a hindrance to him. Opening her mouth, she threw together various sentences in her mind but couldn't find the right words and closed her mouth, remaining silent for the time being.

Fighting off the urge to cry right in the middle of the hall while Randy looked at her, Quinn inhaled a deep breath and looked deep into his icy cold, blue eyes. He just looked back at her, the sigh he let out clearly signifying he was growing impatient with her silence, or maybe her presence, she wasn't exactly sure and she didn't really care to find out which was the specific reason for his impatience.

"Do you have plans tonight?" Quinn finally spoke, breaking the silence filled air.

"I don't know, I think I'm going to meet up with John later and hang out at the bar downtown."

"Oh, I see." Her voice sounded completely and utterly dejected but if Randy noticed, he didn't let on.

"Yeah. Anyways, have a good new year Quinn, I'll see you around."

Quinn stood still in the hallway, watching as Randy disappeared faster than she could say 'what about me' in regards to her and her lack of new year's plans. She wasn't going to invite herself along though, that would have been rude and awkward. He clearly didn't want her around and she wasn't going to put herself in a position where he was going to have to lie or make up an excuse to get rid of her. Tucking her slender hands into the pockets on the front of her jacket, Quinn turned on her heel and headed back down the hall from the direction in which she had just come, her pace much slower than before. With Randy out of the equation for spending the night with, she was desperate to find anyone who she knew well enough to celebrate the beginning of a new year with.

Running through the options in her head, she had come up with three possibilities. The first possibility of whom she could spend the night with was Mike Mizanin, someone who she had known for a few years now but wasn't best friends with. They had been put on separate brands at the previous year's draft, Quinn ending up on Smackdown while Mike remained on Raw. They generally always said hi to each other in the halls, when they happened to see each other, and more often than not ended up having a decent conversation about what each of them was up to in the company. Of course, being on different brands though, her sightings of the Miz dwindled to the odd pay per view or special event. Quinn immediately crossed him off the list, he was most likely spending the night with his girlfriend anyways, none other than the sultry Diva Maryse.

Her second option came in the form of a Scottish man that she had had drinks with on more than one occasion. Drew McIntyre always seemed to wave her over when he spotted her at the bars the rosters were out at. He always seemed to buy her a drink and talk to her for at least fifteen minutes before trying to get her to dance with him. She crossed him off the list too, she didn't want to spend New Year's Eve with a womanizing, arrogant, man who wanted nothing more than to lay his filthy paws all over Quinn's taut body. She figured he would rather spend his New Year's Eve with the girls who were willing to get into bed with him anyways, and she wasn't about to hope into his bed.

The last option, and clearly her most desperate one, was in the form of Zack Ryder. It wasn't that he was uncool or even that he was rather outgoing that bothered Quinn the most. She was rather uneasy about hanging out with the Long Island native for fear that he would get the wrong idea and spend all night trying to make out with her, or even worse, decide that she would be his new bro. Zack Ryder seemed like the kind of guy who was almost as desperate as Quinn was for people to like him and as much as she could sympathize with the odd man, she wasn't about to go searching for him either.

Letting out a small growl of frustration, Quinn had come to the unfortunate conclusion that she was going to spend New Year's Eve alone for the second year in a row. Heading towards the exit door of the deserted arena, Quinn dropped her head and looked at the floor, watching her feet move quickly as she walked. Her black Nikes with silver accents looked almost new, even though they were a month old, there was no way Quinn disrespected a decent pair of shoes, she took care of them, at least shoes would always be there for her if she ever needed them, unlike the people in her life.

Noticing that the light in the hallway had dimmed slightly, Quinn raised her head enough to notice the large form a mere three feet away from her. She didn't have time to stop, she barely had time to slow down before her shoulder collided with the man's arm, throwing them both off course. Quinn ended up doing a stealthy spin, remaining on her feet after a slight stumble, the man just taking a step back from the sudden impact, easily regaining his footing.

"I'm sorry love, I didn't notice you there." His accented voice broke the ice first.

"It's fine, I'm used to it." Quinn shot out before she even registered what she was saying.

Raising her hand to her mouth quickly, she let out a gasp at what she had said. Her eyes moved up the man's body before settling on his face, a polite smile on his lips. She looked into his green eyes and couldn't help but feel bad. She was the one who was staring at the floor wallowing in her own self pity, she was the one who should have been paying attention, how could she miss a man so tall, so big.

Slowly moving her hand away from her mouth, she tucked her hands back in her jacket pocket and forced a smile onto her face. He cocked his head at her, his eyes roaming her body. She had most definitely seen the man before, a fellow wrestler no doubt, but with the way her life was going lately, she had no idea what his name.

"I'm sorry too, I wasn't watching where I was going." Quinn admitted sheepishly, her cheeks blushing pink with embarrassment.

"That's quite alright, no harm done here." He chuckled heartily.

She couldn't help but feel that the laugh he let out at her wasn't something he let out all the time. The way he looked at her, with a bit of a twinkle in his eye, made her feel like maybe he wasn't like the rest of the people she knew. She looked at him and instantly made a rash decision. Maybe, just maybe her night wouldn't turn out so bad after all.

"Do you happen to have plans tonight?" She asked, praying that he would say no, suddenly wanting nothing more than to spend New Year's Eve with the tall, dark, handsome man.

"A few of my mates asked me to go out with them a few days ago, or else I would be spending New Year's Eve alone." He answered.

She nodded her understanding and reminded herself that it was a long shot anyway. A stranger as good looking as he was wouldn't not have plans for New Year's. For all she knew, he had a wonderful girlfriend who loved him very much and he was spending the night romancing who she could only imagine to be a sexy blonde.

"Right, of course, everyone has plans for New Year's, it's totally lame to spend it alone." Quinn scoffed, trying to mask her disappointment.

"Do you have plans for tonight love?" He asked, prying further into her personal life, his tone seemed genuine and she wondered why on earth he would be interested in her plans for the night.

"Yes, I do." She lied, not totally knowing why but not getting into specifics about what her made up plans entailed. Maybe having a stranger think she had no plans was rather embarrassing. He didn't have to know that she was indeed one of the lame people who would be spending the midnight celebration alone.

"Well may you have a wonderful New Year's Eve…sorry I didn't catch your name."

"Quinn, my name's Quinn." She forced a smile, extending her hand out towards him.

"Pleasure to meet you Quinn, my name's Wade."

He took her slender hand in his larger one and shook it firmly. When he released her hand, she felt the coldness of the season take over her body, as well as the cold from the loneliness she was experiencing. He flashed her another polite smile and stepped around her as he continued on his way. Glancing back at him, Quinn pushed the feeling of sadness taking over her body away for the time being. All she had to do was make it back to the hotel before she could curl up in her bed for the night and spend New Year's Eve wondering where everything had gone wrong.

_**Can I get some lovely reviews for this one? What you liked, what you didn't like, what you want to see?**_


	2. Chapter 2: Crying at Midnight

_**I'd like to extend huge a huge thank you to charmedbyortonbarrett, KEAC12, SandraSmit19, Kirstein Renee Orton and KaraDiBiaseOrton for the amazing reviews! You guys are totally awesome! **_**  
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**Chapter 2: Crying At Midnight**

Letting out another gut wrenching sob, Quinn grasped the hotel pillow in her arms, pulling it against her chest. She buried her face in the white pillowcase and tried to drown out the cheers of the people celebrating on the television. She would have turned it off already had she not been crying for the past hour, at least the noise from the television would drown out her sobs, for the time being anyways.

Rolling over, Quinn looked up at the white ceiling and let the tears rush out of her eyes and over her cheeks. There were already tear stains on the pillowcases as well as the bed sheets and her cheeks hadn't been dry in quite a while. Her whole body shook as she fought off another sob, barely winning the fight, the sob ending up as an awkward gurgling sound emanating from deep in her gut. Scrunching her eyes together, she forced out more tears, wondering if maybe, just maybe she would eventually run out of tears and stop crying long enough to fall asleep.

All alone on New Year's Eve, no one even bothering to call her or text her and talk to her, not even Cody. She had given up on feeling anything but abandoned, her friends, and even people she barely knew, had walked away from her and they were probably having a grand ole time partying it up. She knew Randy would be downing shots no matter where he had gone and he would easily have some kind of girl hanging off his arm. Ted seemed to be able to party it up wherever he went too, although with his newest girlfriend next to him, she found herself wondering what they were up to, maybe a romantic dinner or dancing, maybe he was drinking like Randy.

Lifting her arms up towards her face, she shoved the heels of her hands into her eyes and tried to force the tears to just go away. She took a deep breath but instead of feeling relief from her crying, she felt a whole new rush of waterworks eluding her eyes.

"Fuck!" She cried out, rolling onto her stomach and burying her face back into the pillow. She shoved her hands under the pillow and pushed her face deeper into the pillow, wondering how long it would take until she passed out from lack of air.

Giving up after realizing that she wasn't about to pass out, Quinn turned her head and stared at the phone on the bedside table. It had been lifeless ever since she had arrived back at her hotel room and had changed into her loose fitting plaid pajama pants and oversized black t-shirt, which she rolled up at the sleeves. Glaring at the phone now, she let out a fierce growl, then the phone sprang to life.

The vibrating of the phone against the wooden bedside table grinded on her nerves, wondering who could possibly be calling her so close to midnight. Her hand reached out and wrapped around the phone, her eyes catching sight of the screen. Letting out a groan, Quinn forced the tears to slow down enough so that when she answered the phone, her mother wouldn't know she had been crying, that was her goal ultimately but Quinn was struggling to subdue her cries.

"Hey mom." She mumbled, lifting the phone up to her ear. Her voice was shaky and she knew immediately that her mother was going to know something was up with her daughter.

"Hi sweetie, I just called to wish you a Happy New Year." Her mother replied rather excitedly. Quinn stepped off the bed and wandered towards the television across the room, turning the volume down so that she could hear her mother without interference.

The young brunette flopped into the chair a few feet away from the television and let out a sigh, fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

"Thanks but it's not feeling like a very happy New Year mom." She let out a small sob and her mother instantly felt for her poor little girl.

"Oh my sweet little girl, momma's right here and listening to you."

"I'm in my hotel room." Quinn cried, dropping her head into her hands, hating how easily she gave in to her sadness, especially when her mother was on the other end of the line.

"Alone? On New Year's?"

"Yeah." Quinn sighed, her voice catching in her throat.

The line went quiet for a few seconds, Quinn knowing that her mother was taking her time to choose her words. If it weren't for her mother and the patience that she had for Quinn, she never would have made it as far as she had in her wrestling career.

"Well Quinn, I'm sure that your friends aren't having as good of a time as think they are."

"It doesn't matter." Quinn shot back. "This sucks!"

"Sweetheart, just breathe okay, I love you no matter what."

"I know but I feel so shitty mom and I just can't get over it."

Quinn sunk into the chair, lifting her legs up and tucking them under her bum. She had successfully compacted herself as small as she could get her body to go, the tears still flowing from her reddened eyes. She knew the conversation wasn't going to be all happy go lucky but she hadn't exactly anticipated breaking down to her mother either.

"Darling, I'm always here to listen."

"_Mom_." She whined. Being a twenty-nine year old woman and having your mother comfort you on New Year's Eve was somewhat embarrassing to Quinn. She hadn't relied on her mother in years, had barely seen her in the past few months except for holidays and special occasions.

"I know, I know. Look, have you considered talking to a counselor or a therapist or something. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you but it might help. I remember when I took your sister to see someone when your dad left, don't you remember. It really seemed to help her. At the very least, it gave your poor sister someone to talk to who had an unbiased opinion."

"I don't know mom." She mumbled, terrified of laying her problems on someone. She was supposed to be a good girl, a strong girl, yet with each day that passed, something inside of her was crumbling, threatening to break altogether.

"You don't have to be so opposed to seeking help sweetheart. We all have our moments of weakness when we need someone to support us. I just want you to consider it, keep it as an option at least."

Quinn squeezed her eyes shut and felt the tears roll over her moistened cheeks. She pushed the idea to the back of her mind and let out a yawn, tiredness surging through her body now. She looked at her bed and figured that, even if it wasn't quite midnight, she could try to sleep and maybe end and begin the New Year in her dreams.

"Okay mom, I'll think about it." Quinn whispered.

"Alright honey. Just remember that mommy loves you."

"I love you too." Quinn said as she pulled the phone away from her ear.

Standing up from the chair, Quinn hit the end call button before tossing her phone at the now vacant chair. Slowly and surely she wandered across the carpeted floor and flopped onto the bed, grabbing the tear stained pillow and shoving it under her head. She shut her eyes and thought about sleeping, hoping it would take over her body quickly.

As soon as she let out the breath she had been holding, another sob escaped her throat and the feelings rushed back into her body. It didn't matter what she wanted her New Year's Eve to be like, she was facing the cold hard truth. She was alone, the clock nearing midnight, and no one seemed to care.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX**_

"Miss!"

The short Latino hotel employee knocked frantically on the door, yelling through the wood separating him from the girl in the room. He had been knocking on the door for the last five minutes, trying to get the girl to wake up and let him in. Check out time was a good half an hour ago and she was the only one left in the hotel who was supposed to have checked out that morning.

"Hello, Miss are you in there?" He continued to call through the door.

Quinn's eyes fluttered open at the sound of the muffled voice floating from the outside of her hotel room. She lifted her head up and looked at the door, wincing at the furious knocking from the other side. She dropped her head back to the pillow and struggled to roll over, glancing at the red number on the hotel clock. Her eyes widened at the sight, 11:33am stared back at her.

Jumping out of the bed and onto her feet, Quinn rushed across the room and threw her body against the door, stopping herself by using the panel. She wrapped her fingers around the doorknob and turned it, opening it just a few inches as she forced a smile on her face, the short man looking back at her, concern etched onto his face.

"Miss are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry, I forgot to set my alarm and I overslept. I'll be out of here in fifteen minutes."

"Take your time miss, no need to rush." He smiled politely.

Quinn's cheeks turned a light shade of pink from embarrassment. He nodded his head at her before turning away from her door and wandering away. She shut the door as he disappeared before letting out a groan. The last thing Quinn could remember before she had fallen asleep was the clock reading 3:13am. She had continued to cry well into the early hours of the morning, finally calming herself down enough to sleep shortly after three.

Furiously running her hands through her hair, Quinn rushed towards the phone on the chair, desperate to find out if anyone had noticed her missing yet. Once she wrapped her hands around the phone, her heart dropped. There wasn't a single text message, not one missed call. Quinn was once again left alone.

She fought off the urge to start crying again and made her way to her suitcase, diving right in and searching for clean clothes. Skipping her morning shower was starting to seem like a decent idea, the faster she could get out of the hotel, the sooner her embarrassment would disappear and maybe she could catch up with some of her friends. Even if she had to help them nurse hangovers, she didn't care, that would simply mean that they needed her, if only temporarily.

A small smile spread out on Quinn's face as she quickly stripped down to her underwear. Not bothering to brush her teeth or wash her face, Quinn whipped her clean clothes on, made sure she had everything packed and took off out of her room, shoving her phone into the pocket of her jeans as she wandered down the hall. Her black Nike's weren't even tied as she trudged down the hall, lugging her suitcase on her shoulder, her black jacket draped over her arm.

Stopping in the lobby, right near the front desk, Quinn dropped her suitcase to the marble floor and slipped her slender arms into the jacket. She squatted down and tied her running shoes, latching her hand on the suitcase as she stood up. Slowly she approached the female standing behind the desk and threw another smile on her face.

"Sorry, I'm just here to check out, I'm sure I owe you some sort of late fee or something."

"Oh, don't worry about it miss, just have a Happy New Year." The girl smiled back, waving Quinn off.

The young brunette stepped outside and immediately let out a shiver. She turned right and headed down the street to the rental car company, the place she had been told to go to when she had first arrived at the hotel.

The wind stung her face as she walked facing it, hugging her jacket tighter in a lame attempt to keep the wind from reaching her body. She squinted her eyes and struggled to breathe as a gust of air rushed around her, sucking the oxygen right out of her lungs. Her grip tightened on the suitcase as she spotted the rental car company, the lot out front was pretty much empty, Quinn suddenly praying that they kept their cars around back where she couldn't see them.

She looked around as she approached the front door and couldn't find a single break in the asphalt that would suggest the rental car company kept more cars anywhere other than the front parking lot. She dropped her suitcase to the floor once she was inside and dragged it across the deep navy tiles, stopping in front of the desk and watching as the tall, blonde, well built man behind the desk finished up on the phone.

She ran her hands through her hair again, trying to get it to look somewhat decent, suddenly aware that she was out in public and that her appearance really did mattered. Maybe she should have taken the Latino man up on his offer of taking her time, at least then she could have brushed her teeth to get rid of the gritty feeling on her molars, or she could have washed her face, getting rid of the greasy feeling on her face as well as the memories of the tears that had so recently rolled over the smooth, silky flesh of her cheeks.

"How can I help you today Miss?" The man asked immediately after hanging up the phone.

"I'm with the World Wrestling Entertainment Company and I think there should be a car for me."

"Name please?"

"Quinn O'Reilly."

The man dropped his gaze from Quinn to a stack of papers on the right hand side of his desk. He flipped through a few pages before setting them back in the order her had originally had them. She watched nervously as he flipped through the pages once more and looked up at her, an apologetic expression on his face.

"I'm sorry Miss O'Reilly, our last car on the lot is booked for someone else. They called about fifteen minutes ago according to this paperwork and informed us they were going to be late. I don't have anything else I can give you."

Quinn's jaw dropped in shock. She was having a bad day already and it didn't seem to be getting any better. Rolling her eyes at her predicament, she dropped her arms onto the desk and groaned, praying that something would happen to make the day a little bit better.

"When are you expecting another car to come back?" She asked, desperate for him to provide her with good news.

"Oh, not until tonight, unfortunately. I can call one of the other branches and see if they have anything available but I can't guarantee-"

Quinn raised her hand at him and cut him off. She glanced back at the sound of the door opening and her eyes lit up at the sight. Sure he wasn't Randy Orton or Ted Dibiase but Drew McIntyre was her godsend at that precise moment. Her lips curled into a smile as she sauntered over towards him, trying to be as appealing as possible considering she had skipped a shower, as well as brushing her teeth that morning.

"Quinn, what are you doing here?" He asked in his Scottish drawl, smirking at her presence.

"Looking for a way to get to the next city. Perhaps you can help me out?" She asked huskily, playing her best sexy card, trying to keep him interested enough to help her out.

"Oh, well, I'm not actually driving."

Quinn cocked an eyebrow at him and pondered what on earth he meant. If he wasn't driving, how was he getting to the next city? She looked past him and spotted a few more bodies wandering around the lot, circling the car and suddenly it hit her. Maybe he wasn't driving but he would certainly have to ride along with someone else who _would_ be driving.

"Who _is_ driving?" She asked, watching the small group of men pile their own suitcases at the back of the white Honda Civic residing in the parking lot.

"Wade is, I'm sure you can ask him."

"Already ahead of you Drew!" Quinn shouted, her hands already on the door.

She pushed it open and stepped outside, her suitcase dragging behind her on the snow-covered pavement. The awful scraping sound easily caught the attention of the two guys standing next to the car. Quinn gave them a small wave and closed the gap between her and them, smiling politely.

"Quinn right?" The tall Englishman questioned with his own smile.

"Yes, Wade." She nodded.

"What can I do for you love?"

"Have you got room in your car for me? I slept through my alarm and the guy in there said this is his last car."

Wade let out a chuckle at her predicament, finding it somewhat entertaining. She shied away from his gaze but when he smiled even wider at her, she knew he wasn't about to leave her at the car rental company all by herself.

"As long as you don't mind riding with Drew and Justin here then you are more than welcome to tag along."

"Oh my god, thank you so much! I owe you huge!" She grinned at them, taking a look at the smaller man next to Wade, assuming that he was Justin.

"It's not a big deal." The smaller man said, Quinn smiling even more at his accent. Apparently everyone that she was going to be thankful for that day had an accent, first Drew, then Wade, and now this Justin character.

"Still." Quinn blushed as she made eye contact with the sexy, little south African.

Wade nodded along with Justin and gingerly reached out for her suitcase. She handed it over with ease and watched as Wade loaded her suitcase, as well as the rest of them into the trunk of the Honda. Justin reached out and set his hand across her back, ushering her towards the passenger side. He let his hand drop away from her before latching it onto the door handle, pulling the car door open for her, letting her have the front seat.

"I can ride in the back, it's fine." She said, trying to make herself seem like less of an inconvenience.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be a better navigator than I am anyways." He laughed.

Quinn slowly stepped into the front seat of the car silently deciding that she liked his laugh. The two guys whom she had met at the car seemed to genuinely want to make sure she wasn't left behind and they barely knew her. She relaxed against the seat and smiled at Justin Gabriel as he gently shut the door for her. While in the confinement of the car by herself, Quinn let out a contented sigh, happy that her day was starting to look up. Maybe her New Year's wasn't looking so bad after all.

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	3. Chapter 3: Types of People

_**Many Thanks must go out to Christina89, JessiandCharlie and Kirstein Renee Orton! Sorry for keeping you waiting this long but I hope you enjoy!  
**_

**Chapter 3: Types of People**

A good hour and a half into their journey, the two in the backseat, Drew and Justin, were snoring. Drew's snores were the loudest noises she had ever heard from someone who was sleeping, Justin's were much softer, more like a sigh that he was releasing as he remained in dreamland.

Quinn curled her legs up onto the seat, shoving her feet under her bum as she watched the passing signs along the highway. Her eyes were on high alert for the sign belonging to the turn off. The car had been rather quiet since they had pulled out of the rental car company parking lot, no one had really said much, especially not to Quinn. Drew had merely smirked at her, she was surprised when he didn't try to flirt with her. Justin had fallen asleep almost as soon as he had gotten into the car and Wade was so focused on driving that he barely said anything more than 'Where am I going' to the girl riding in the front seat.

She turned her head and looked at the large man driving, he looked absolutely focused on the road, not letting anything distract him, not even the gorgeous girl in the front of the car with him. She discretely studied his features, his nose, as crooked as a fishhook was the most dominating feature on his hardened face. She was rather curious to find out how it had gotten to be so out of place but had decided that talking about his crooked nose was an inappropriate way to start a conversation with a man she barely knew. Being rude was not part of Quinn's plan and she certainly wasn't going to bring up how weird it was to look at a man whose nose wasn't straight.

"You don't have to stay quiet love." He said softly, his eyes remaining glued to the road. Perhaps he felt her stare; maybe he knew what she was thinking. He certainly would have had to explain the nose to other people in other conversations; maybe he was accustomed to it being a topic of conversation. Maybe he was just bored and lonely, something Quinn could easily relate to.

"Sorry." She blushed, knowing that he couldn't see her cheeks turning pink for his eyes were not moving away from the road ahead.

"That's quite alright, maybe you're simply tired from the festivities of New Year's Eve?"

"Oh yeah, that's totally it." She replied in a sarcastic tone, instantly regretting the way she had said it. He hadn't known she spent the night crying and feeling incredibly lonely. For all she knew, he thought she had gone out and had the night of her life, maybe ending up back in her hotel room with some random guy who had ravished her into the early hours of the morning, maybe he thought she had met more than one guy.

"Not a good New Year's then?" He pressed.

"Let's just say that I've had better." Quinn stated firmly, adding a nod of her head to solidify her statement.

"Well Justin there, he was dancing with some bird last night and she threw up all over his trousers. Needless to say, we called it a night early because he smelt so rotten." Wade added with a hearty laugh.

She felt her heart flutter at the warmth of his tone. The more he spoke to her, the more she felt that maybe someone did care. Perhaps the one and only Wade Barrett was the person who she needed most.

"No lucky midnight kiss for you then?" She chuckled, suddenly praying that he would say no. She barely knew the man driving yet already she was unprepared to hear about him being with another girl.

It wasn't jealously in the normal, romantic sense, not by any means. Quinn had become accustomed to being jealous in the last few months but because other people were happy and having fun. Always being excluded or left out, her anxiety of being constantly abandoned by those who were supposed to be her friends had caused her to become a bitter person towards anyone who was having a better time with their life than she was.

"I'm not exactly that kind of person." He chuckled back.

She turned to look at him, preparing herself to study his features further but at the exact moment she looked over at him, he glanced back at her, for the first time since he turned the car on, he peeled his eyes off the road and looked at her. For a split second, Quinn saw the soft smile playing at his lips, but all too quickly it was gone, he had turned his face back towards the road and Quinn was left to wonder what was going on in his head.

"Alright, well what kind of person are you?" She asked, not wanting the conversation to stop, the silence she had previously experienced had been almost too much for her to handle and she almost feared it would come back.

"What kind of person am I? What kind of person would you say I am?" he asked her right back, a tone of amusement taking over his voice.

"A nice one." Quinn answered confidently.

"A nice one, is that all?"

"Okay, a nice person who seems to have some sort of torrid past. I mean, I can tell you with confidence that you had a rough time when you were younger that resulted in some major trauma to your nose, you seem like the kind of guy who wants to make sure that people get what they deserve, I mean you saw this poor girl this morning-"

"You." He nodded.

"-Yes, me and you didn't leave her behind. At the same time though, if you thought someone deserved to be left behind, I don't think you'd have any problem doing so."

"What makes you say that?"

"It all comes back to your nose." She smiled goofily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"My nose yeah?"

"It's obviously been broken more than once and I can safely say that you probably put up a fight because well, if someone broke my nose, I wouldn't just let them walk away without trying to get back at them. So you're the kind of guy who has absolutely no problem going after people who deserve it."

He remained quiet once she had finished and instantly Quinn felt small. She hadn't intended to strike a nerve and his absolute silence seemed not to sit too well with her. She waited patiently, praying that she hadn't already screwed up a relationship that hadn't even started. He gripped the steering wheel tighter, she spotted his knuckles as they turned white. Slowly he glanced over at her, Quinn mentally prepared herself for his anger at her but instead of laying into her, he simply laughed. A deep, hearty, bubbling up from the belly kind of laugh.

"Spot on love." He nodded, as he continued to laugh. She relaxed in the seat and nodded to herself. Not everyone was like Randy she figured, maybe there were people out there who actually liked talking to her, who wanted to be around her. Maybe Wade Barrett could be one of those people.

"Now it's your turn." She smiled.

"My turn for what?"

"Now you get to tell me what kind of person _I_ am."

Wade nodded his understanding and stole another glance at her. He hadn't by any means had any time to take in her features so she had an advantage by knowing that his nose had been broken before. Wade had nothing to base his opinions on, at least nothing physical. He had thought of her the night before, wondering how he could possibly work in the same company as the woman and yet not know who she was. She wasn't by any means ugly, in fact she was one of the most beautiful Divas he had ever laid eyes on. The other thing that he noticed was that she hadn't thrown herself at him like many of the other female wrestlers.

"Quinn, you are the kind of person who is grateful for even the smallest things."

She just looked at him. Yes, indeed she was that type of person but she was expecting quite a bit more from him. After all, she had given him a good bout of information about him and so far all he had come up with was that she was grateful.

"Well, I think I should be grateful. You guys giving me a ride means that I didn't have to spend the day waiting for a car, which means that I don't have to explain to Vince why I'm late to the venue-"

"You're a people pleaser," He cut her off but smiled at her, "God forbid you make someone angry or frustrated with you, I'm guessing that's why you haven't said hardly anything since you got into the car. Aiming to please is something you're quite familiar with and you'd rather not cause any kind of inconvenience to anyone. You said you slept through your alarm, and by the looks of your choice of outfit, I'd say you rushed to get out of the hotel which means that you're the type of person who gets embarrassed by trivial things like sleeping through an alarm. You'd rather hide your mistakes than face the embarrassment of trying to make excuses."

"I, um-"

"How am I doing so far?" He questioned with a large grin.

Quinn's cheeks turned bright red at the confident oozing off his tone. She turned her head and looked out the side window, resting her forehead against the cool glass as she did so. She had never had anyone say anything even remotely close to what he said, yet he was pretty much hitting the bullseye. She never, ever, pushed Randy to tell her what his plans were if he didn't want her to know, she would never even dream of making him upset with her. She had done so once and it hadn't turned out so well. Recalling the days spent groveling for his forgiveness wasn't something that Quinn did often, she absolutely hated that she had screwed up with him and she did damn near everything she possibly could to get him to no longer be mad at her.

She even recalled the one time that Ted had gotten upset over something Quinn had said. He grew angry at her, telling her that what he did was none of her business, even if he had blown her off more than once with the same excuse. When Quinn had asked about the excuse he had blatantly made up, that was when he grew angry, claiming that he didn't have to tell her every little thing about his life. She had backed off immediately, salvaging her relationship with him by lying to him and telling him that she was worried about him, he had softened at her words right back, even forgiving her for blowing up. She knew she could be frustrating sometimes but Ted was the last person she had ever figured would pass her up for someone else.

"So what happened to your nose anyway?" Quinn asked, not wanting him to dig into her life any more. She no longer cared about upsetting him, he had shown her enough that she figured he was pretty open about that sort of thing.

"I used to box back in England. A few blokes had their shot to bugger it up."

She nodded her understanding, feeling guilty for asking about his life now when she wanted nothing more than for him to never find out another thing about hers. He seemed to judge her fairly easily, picking up on her flaws. She was a people pleaser and that wasn't something she was proud of.

"How many times have you broken it?"

"I lost count after twenty." He laughed again.

Quinn joined him in laughing, feeling the urge to just enjoy the moment. She hadn't laughed in quite a few days now and she seized her opportunity. There was something to be said about feeling miserable more often than not, and after days of being left alone, Quinn now sat in a car with three people she barely knew, one of which was starting to grow on her.

"Well I think it adds character." Quinn stated with a smile.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX**_

She had left the guys at the car as soon as they arrived at the hotel they were supposed to be staying at for the duration of the Smackdown taping for the week. Wade had said his goodbyes, even helping her out by lifting her suitcase out of the trunk. She would never admit it out loud but her ride with the three of them was one of the nicest, most relaxing rides she had been on in a long time.

For the most part, she had been making most of her drives alone, ever since Randy had given her the cold shoulder. She knew he didn't really like having her around as much as he used to, and she wasn't about to get in between him and the guys. So instead of standing up for herself and riding along with Randy, Cody and Ted, she just headed to each new city on her own. It was easier to deal with her emotions if she didn't have to put on a happy face for all of her friends to see.

She lugged her suitcase up to the front desk and set it down gently on the carpeted floor in front of the large oak desk. The young lady stood on the opposite side, a fake smile plastered on her face. Quinn bent down and unzipped the side pocket on her suitcase, pulling out her wallet before standing up straight and forcing a smile back at the girl.

"How can I help you today Miss?" The girl asked, her tone was way too pleasant and cheery. Quinn shook her head; clearly this girl had been playing the happy person for way too long.

"I'm with the World Wrestling Entertainment Company-"

"Alright Miss, can I get a name?"

"Quinn O'Reilly." Quinn answered, brushing off the fact that the girl had cut her off.

Quinn rested her elbow on the edge of the oak desk and tapped the edge of her wallet on the surface. She glanced behind her and watched carefully as Wade, Drew and Justin all took seats on the oversized leather couch residing in the center of the lobby. She turned her attention back to the girl and smiled at the sounds of typing. The process wasn't by any means new to Quinn but the familiar sounds of the keyboard always seemed to make her feel less anxious to be in a new hotel.

Seconds later the girl behind the desk looked up at Quinn and flashed anther overly cheery smile. Quinn popped the dome on her wallet, preparing herself to hand over her identification, something she knew the girl would ask for. Once the girl saw the wallet opening in Quinn's hand, she remained quiet, waiting to see if Quinn would hand over exactly what she wanted.

"Do I have a roommate at all?" Quinn inquired as she dug out her license and handed it over.

"I believe you are the only person in your room tonight Miss O'Reilly." The girl nodded, taking the license and studying it carefully.

Nodding, Quinn waited in silence for her room key now. She turned around and caught sight of the three guys yet again, but there was a fourth person standing in front of the couch talking to them. She nodded again, recognizing who it was. When he turned his attention towards her, he smiled wide, gripped his bag on his shoulder tighter and jogged over to stand next to her.

"How was Georgia, Cody?" She asked, reaching out and taking her license as the girl handed it back.

"It was great until I got stuck at the damn airport on New Year's Eve." He groaned, watching the girl behind the desk now as she handed the credit card-like key over to Quinn before looking at the girl now too. "I have a room too, Cody Rhodes."

"Do you have identification?" The girl asked.

Cody reached into his back pocket and pulled out his beat up old leather wallet before flipping it open. He slipped his license out of one of the pockets and handed it to her before turning his attention back onto Quinn.

"So what'd you do for New Year's?" She asked, hoping that he had just as miserable a night as she did.

"I spent it at the airport. Mom and dad showed up before midnight so I guess I wasn't totally alone. What about you? What'd you end up doing, did you and Randy hang out?"

Quinn simply shook her head, not wanting to get into what had happened between her and Randy. If she was quite honest, she was still rather upset at him walking away from her and not even inviting her to hang around. She knew Cody had probably spoken to Ted, the two of them were the closest in the group, and if he hadn't talked to Ted about the man's plans, he would have asked Quinn if she had hung out with Ted too.

"So what'd you do then?" He asked, taking his license back from the girl, putting it back in his wallet before shoving the wallet back in his pocket. He then grabbed the room key from the girl and turned towards the elevators.

"Oh, not much of anything, my mom called and she just kept talking. I couldn't exactly tell the woman who raised me to be quiet because I had to go out. I ended up in my room for most of the night." Quinn answered reluctantly, bending the truth so that Cody didn't know how she had really spent the night.

"Oh, that's sucky. At least you talked to your mom right?"

"Yeah." Quinn forced a nervous laugh, following Cody as he took off for the elevators.

"I'm room 212, what about you?"

"224."

"Oh cool, that's pretty close! We should definitely hang out."

Quinn just nodded as he reached the elevator, shooting his free hand out to push the button that had the number two on it. She didn't say another word as they boarded the elevator together, instead she looked back at the lobby and stared at the three guys who had been sitting on the couch, only now they were at the front desk. She watched them until the elevator doors shut and she could no longer see them, setting everything in her life back to the way it had been before the New Year even began.

**_Review?_**


	4. Chapter 4: Just Friends

**_Thank yous go out to Love103, charmedbyortonbarrett and Kirstein Renee Orton for the positive reviews. I am very sorry for the long wait between updates, there's simply no excuse and I hope you all can forgive me... _  
**

**Chapter 4: Just Friends**

Cody gently set the large cup of coffee on the table she had been sitting at. He plunked his own bum into the chair opposite her and easily pulled the plastic lid off the cup, glancing at the hot, caramel coloured liquid inside. She stifled back a laugh and followed suit, cautiously taking a sip and smiling at him.

"Just the way you like it?" He questioned.

"It's fine Cody." She giggled back at him, relaxing in the chair.

His eyes scanned her face as she let out a sigh, cradling the coffee in her hands, now in her lap. The warmth from the coffee was a pleasant feeling against her hands and thighs, the cold from the January air had wafted inside the small coffee shop and left her body chilled.

"Good, I'm trying here Quinn." He smirked, knowing that she wasn't quite acting like herself, not since he had left her to head home for the New Year holiday.

"So tell me about your trip home." She pushed, wanting him to do most of the talking, not wanting him to find out that she had, indeed, spent the New Year sad and alone.

Her eyes didn't leave his as he settled into the chair, readying himself for a long, emotion filled story about his small vacation. Just the sound of his voice was enough to relax her nerves the slightest little bit. He was her friend after all and over the last few days, she had started to feel like she had none left. As he sat in front of her now, she could push the idea that absolutely no one cared about her out of her head.

"I saw mom's face first when I was sitting in the airport, god she like yelled out my name and everyone in the damn airport turned towards her. Obviously there were only about fifteen to twenty people waiting there seeing as it was New Year's Eve, but still, it was so embarrassing."

"Yeah, I bet," she laughed, "Momma Rhodes at it again right."

"Oh no doubt about it. I swear to god she lives to embarrass me."

"What about your dad though?"

"Holy cow, I don't think I will ever be able to get the image of him dancing in the middle of the airport out of my head for the rest of my life."

Letting out a laugh, Quinn shifted in her chair, reaching out and setting the coffee on the table. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him, receiving a smile from him in return.

"You love him and you know it." Quinn prodded.

Now it was Cody's turn to laugh. A loud, single laugh escaped his throat as he too secured his coffee on the table top, setting his palms on his knees as he leaned in closer to her.

"Don't ever let me forget it Quinn." He grinned, running his hands over his kneecaps.

"Did he get your mom dancing with him too?"

"Yes, her and pretty much everyone else who was waiting for their planes. Good lord I don't know how they manage to do it. Anywhere they go not only do they end up making fools of themselves but they embarrass me to no end."

"That's what parents are for." Quinn added, immediately letting her mind wander to her own parents.

Her mother, the only parent she could ever rely on, was the one person she had talked to on New Year's Eve about what was really going on. Her mother was a saint to Quinn, always there for her, always ready to do whatever it took to make sure Quinn was all right. There wasn't a single thing that Quinn wouldn't do for her mother, and she knew that her mother felt the same way.

Her father however, he was a totally different story. Having walked out on her mother while Quinn was at the tender age of twelve, Quinn had refused to give him what he wanted, and what he wanted was a daughter who would do anything to be with her father. She had given up on ever wanting anything to do with him, especially when he dragged her sister through hell and back when the time for college came around.

Quinn always felt like she was better off without her father in her life. She could see her mother was way better off without him too, the entire dynamic within the house after he had left took a one-eighty turn. There was no longer a need to step around her father, fearing that the smallest mistake or failure would set him off. Overall, her mother, her sister, and Quinn herself, smiled a lot more once her father had left the house.

"I'm just grateful that my brother didn't join them."

"Oh dressed in his nice gold attire?" Quinn laughed, picturing the older Rhodes brother prancing around the airport in his gold latex suit and platinum blonde wig, his face painted over completely.

"And I thank god every day that he's busy with his own life, that way he stays out of mine."

"Awe Cody, I'm sure he's not that bad." Quinn teased, knowing that Dustin Rhodes was the farthest thing from normal she had ever seen.

"You have no idea."

She listened as he dove into another story about his brother, something about him walking in on Cody and a girl one night when he was younger; the two of them had been locked at the lips. Needless to say, Dustin had chased the girl away without much effort and Cody had learned a valuable lesson to never bring girls to the Rhodes house any more.

Her eyes scanned the small coffee shop, she could hear his words but she wasn't listening to what he was saying anymore. There was a part of her that absolutely adored spending time with Cody Rhodes, they would only ever be friends though, he had made that clear from the moment the two of them met.

_She had been wandering around the halls backstage, hours before her first taping of Smackdown. She was lost, she hated to admit it but she was completely and utterly unaware of where she was or even where she was supposed to be. Every time she rounded another corner, she'd let out an irritated growl, every thing just looked the exact same as where she had just come from. _

_Slinging her backpack higher up on her shoulder, Quinn let out a sigh, wondering what they would do if she didn't show up for her match. Nearing the end of another hallway, she stopped in her tracks and pressed her hip against the wall, digging in her pocket for her cell phone. She glanced down the hall, watching carefully now as the handle to one of the doors moved. Praying that she would encounter someone who could help her out, Quinn gripped her phone in her hand firmly and straightened up, putting on a false air of confidence._

_As soon as he stepped out she took a deep breath and marched right up to him, the plastic face mask had thrown her off once she saw it, but she shook her head and pushed the immediate desire to ask him what happened to the back of her head. Being rude and nosy wasn't necessarily a good thing to be when all she really wanted was a little help. He turned his head and his eyes locked on her, the fiercest glare ever coming off his gaze._

"_Can I help you?" He asked, clearly irritated by her mere presence._

"_Um, I'm supposed to have a match tonight and I don't really know where I'm supposed to be right now."_

"_And I'm just magically supposed to be able to help you?"_

"_Oh, no, um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." She shied away from him, disappointed in herself for bothering someone who she had put all of her hopes on._

"_Look, what's your name?" He asked with an annoyed sigh._

"_Quinn." She mumbled, still trying to decide whether or not she wanted to just turn around and run all the way back to her mother._

"_I'm on my way to the ring, if you follow me, I can try to find a crew member to pass you off to."_

"_Really?" She asked, her eyes brightening up at his offer now. "You'd do that for me?"_

"_Yeah, just don't tell anyone I helped you and definitely don't think this means that I like you."_

_Quinn nodded furiously as he turned on his heel and headed down the hall. Hesitating for a second, Quinn smiled at his back and took off in a jog after him, barely able to keep up. She could hardly contain her excitement as he took the lead and let her lag behind. A few minutes later, and a few more corners rounded, he pointed his arm out towards a young man dressed in black dress pants and a simple white collared shirt. _

"_Thank you." She called after him as he continued on his way, leaving her with what she could only assume was a crewmember, or at the very least, someone who could help her._

"_Remember, it doesn't mean I like you!" He called back, not even bothering to look back and face her. _

Her eyes fell on the door and she watched as Wade Barrett stepped inside the coffee shop followed closely by Justin Gabriel and a red headed man that Quinn had only ever seen in passing. She had no idea of his name, nor was she interested in looking at him for much longer than she needed. He wasn't her type, the movements he made exuded an air of cockiness that she was all too familiar with in her own group of friends and it was something she was certainly growing tired of.

"Oh man, I thought for sure Barrett had abandoned his little groupies after the Corre split."

"What are you talking about?" Quinn asked, looking at Cody quickly before glancing back at Wade, Justin and the ginger.

Cody reached out and grabbed hold of his coffee, lifting it to his lips before taking a sip. He held it in his hand as he followed her gaze, looking at the three men along with Quinn.

"Do you live under a rock or something Quinn, Wade Barrett used to be part of this lame group called the Corre. Those two were in it with him but one night on Smackdown he just up and leaves them in the ring."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean they aren't friends for real Cody." She shot back, watching them carefully as Wade ordered and Justin pulled out his wallet.

"I guess."

"It's like you and Randy. Sure you guys were in Legacy together and you guys fell apart but you're still friends now, right?"

"Valid point." Cody replied, tearing his eyes away from the three men and looking back at Quinn, her expression on her face signified that she was totally enveloped by their presence in the coffee shop.

"Who's the guy with red hair?" She asked, her fingers wrapping absentmindedly around the seat part of her chair as she leaned closer to the table.

"Heath Slater. I wouldn't mind kicking his annoying face in."

"What'd he do to you?" She pondered, curious as to what the man possibly could have done to warrant a kick in the face from her dear friend Cody Rhodes.

"He just thinks he's all that."

Quinn couldn't contain the enormous laugh that erupted from her throat. She slapped her hand over her mouth, not totally believing the sound had come from her. It was too late though, not only was Cody staring at her but Wade and his two buddies were now looking at her too, most likely wondering who the noise had come from.

"Christ Quinn, what was that?" Cody questioned, looking at her, not totally believing the noise she had produced, rather embarrassed for her now. He slouched down in his seat a little further but continued to look at her.

"I think it was a laugh." She nodded shyly, rather shocked and surprised at her own little outburst.

Cody's lips curled upwards into a smile and before she knew it, he was looking at her, rather amused at what she had just done. It wasn't until three shadows formed on the table over her shoulder that Quinn knew what he was smiling at.

"May we join you?" Justin questioned, motioning at the table.

"Sure." Cody answered, shifting his seat around the table, moving closer to Quinn to make more room.

The three men grabbed free chairs from the tables near Quinn and Cody's before taking a seat, setting their own cups of coffee on the surface that already housed Quinn's cup. She glanced up at Wade before he had a chance to get too comfortable, when he flashed her a sly smile, her cheeks reddened ever so slightly. Relaxing into her chair, she looked at Cody now and caught his cheeky grin, perhaps he saw something that she didn't.

"How're you guys?" Cody asked pleasantly, trying his best not to kick the ginger under the table. Thankfully Heath Slater's attention was elsewhere in the coffee shop, a couple of bubbly blondes were looking over at the table, not at the red head but he didn't seem to mind. Quinn had noticed their gazes shift earlier as soon as Cody had sat down to join her.

"Can't complain man, and you?" Justin asked right back, a friendly smile present on his soft features.

"He's alright, he was just telling me about his awesome family reunion on New Year's Eve." Quinn joined in, finally finding her voice after her little gaze from Wade.

"You weren't out partying?" Heath teased, his gaze still locked on the blondes. Quinn could tell by the tone of his voice that Heath had a very similar opinion of Cody, although she didn't know for sure if the one man band would ever have the desire to kick Cody's face in.

Running her thumbs along the side of her coffee cup, Quinn let Cody take over the conversation at the table. He seemed to be really hitting it off with Justin, who was definitely the most talkative of the three. She was quite content to just sit and listen, taking in all she could before she was left along once again to deal with the pain of rejection.

Her eyes wandered from the table now back to Wade. There was so much she wanted to ask him, so much she needed to know about his life, but there just wasn't an opportunity. He was merely an acquaintances as far as she was concerned and she wasn't about to just bombard him with questions.

"Something the matter love?" His voice was unusually soft, his whisper barely bringing her out of her trance.

Quickly Quinn glanced around the table, wondering if anyone else had noticed her blank stare, or worse, had they noticed that her stare was directed solely at Wade. Gingerly shaking her head, bringing herself back to reality, she forced a smile at the large Englishman sitting next to her.

"Sometimes I just get lost in my own head." She replied quietly, silently wondering if he thought her response was utterly ridiculous.

It wasn't a new thing for her to have difficulty explaining things, lately she found herself confusing more people than she would have liked but once she reflected back on what had happened, or what she had said, she realized that how she was feeling, or what she was thinking, was rather difficult to put into words.

"Is it a dangerous place in there?"

"Not always." She admitted shyly.

There were days when Quinn wanted nothing to do with the WWE anymore, quite often wondering who would even miss her if she left. Other days she had found her mind wandering off to dark places, places where she would think about harming herself. It was becoming a more frequent occurrence in her life, most of the time the thoughts arouse while she was driving.

She knew that a car accident would cause her to end up in the hospital and if she did it in a particular way, she wouldn't die, at least she hoped she wouldn't. The railroad tracks didn't fair too much better, her creativity taking over, she could always pull onto the tracks, just enough so that the train would clip the rear end of the vehicle. Running her car off the road and into the ditch would cause damage to the car but Quinn knew that it wouldn't necessarily cause enough damage to her body to warrant a trip to the hospital. For the most part, pushing the harmful thoughts to back of her mind was what she ended up doing, not wanting to deal with the aftermath of a crashed rental car, or being hospitalized in an unfamiliar city.

The door of the coffee shops swung open, stopping Cody from saying another word. Wade's eyes traveled from Quinn to the now open door, the obvious glare on his face directed at Randy Orton, the Viper standing just inside the doorframe with his arms crossed over his broad chest. Right behind him, forcing his way into the coffee shop, was Ted Dibiase, Randy taking off after him as soon as he was safely inside.

"Hey Orton!" Cody called out, throwing his hand into the air, Quinn wincing at his actions.

"We should probably be going." Justin broke in, sensing the tension building at the table.

Her body tensed as Wade pushed his chair back and stood up. She fully understood that sometimes people just didn't get along, she didn't really care what happened but the fact that Cody had called Randy and the Viper was now on his way over made Quinn feel uneasy. She knew he had most likely had a wonderful New Year's Eve and she most definitely didn't want to hear him boast about the girl he ended up with. To her, some things were better left unsaid.

Her hand lifted into the air as she threw the three retreating guys a lame wave goodbye, her eyes locking on Cody's as he smiled at her now.

"I don't mind him." Cody nodded.

"Mind who?"

"Gabriel, or Barrett for that matter."

"Oh." Quinn replied before falling silent.

Her gaze followed Randy now as he strode across the coffee shop floor, closing the distance between him and the table. She let out a breath as he sat in the now vacant chair, the one that Wade had been seated in seconds earlier. Her fingers wrapped around her coffee cup as she retreated back into her own thoughts, not wanting to hear how awesome of a time he had last night without her.

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	5. Chapter 5: Scarred and Broken

**Thank you to ShannonTheAwesomeOne and Kirsteign Renee Orton for the reviews, they are wonderful and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I am dedicating this one to you two!**

**Chapter 5: Scarred and Broken**

_I am scarred, broken beyond repair and it should scare me but it doesn't. You see, the more time I spend alone, the more I think about things, bad things. Would it really be a terrible thing if I just drove my rental car into a telephone pole, or if I just didn't show up to a venue, instead disappearing? Who would miss me? I don't think it would be that many people, if anyone noticed at all. Cody might notice that I wasn't around anymore but he'd get over it eventually, after all, I'm nothing special. _

_Half the time no one seems too interested in making me feel like I'm wanted or that they even know I'm alive as it is. Randy just talked about himself at the coffee shop, boasting about how he ended up in his hotel room with some dumb blonde who threw herself at him the second she laid eyes on him, and that's nothing new anyways. I've heard the same story only with a different location and different girl more than just once. That's not fair you know. Randy's supposed to be my friend, a guy that I can rely on to be there for me, to give me the impression that he wants me around but lately all I get is rejected and ignored. I would do anything for him but apparently that isn't enough. _

_It's really nice of Cody to stick by me though, but it's still not such a great act on his part. As soon as the guys show up, he's a totally different person, diving right into the conversation about Randy's latest prospect, or Ted's embarrassing failures with the women he's gone after. I just wish things would go back to the way they used to be, when we were all happy together, just the four of us, like a family almost. I'm starting to wonder if that will ever happen, if I'll ever be happy again. For the time being, I guess I'll just have to keep surviving and struggling on my own. Until someone wants me around, I'll be Quinn all alone, crying at night when it gets to be too much for me to handle. I'm only one person, I can only take so much. And so, my story continues._

**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX**_  
_

Wandering down the hall to the arena where the Smackdown taping was taking place, Quinn's eyes wandered from closed door to closed door. In an attempt to find the dressing room where she was supposed to be, Quinn had felt herself feeling more lost and alone than she had ever felt. Cody hadn't talked to her since she arrived back in her hotel room, not that she expected him too, but with the way things had been going with him over the past few days, she figured he might at least call her or text her just to talk, or set up a car pool to the arena. No such luck. She knew he had buddied up with Randy and Ted, probably ignoring Quinn at Randy's request.

He wasn't even trying to hide it anymore, or sugarcoat the fact that she was a nuisance to him. Randy Orton didn't really want Quinn around him anymore. She could tell by the way he never looked at her when they were hanging out, or the way he never mentioned that Quinn was welcome to tag along when the guys were discussing plans for before, or after, the shows. There was even something in his posture that changed when she got within ten feet of him, almost as if he was disappointed or irritated by her mere presence.

In her head, she hadn't done anything wrong. She always did what he had wanted her to do without putting up a fuss, that had to count for something. If they went out to the bar, she wouldn't drink so that Randy could enjoy the night downing alcohol with his guy friends, then she'd drive them all back to wherever they were staying and make sure he got back to his room without incident. She took care of him, made sure he didn't get into much trouble and in return, all she wanted was for him to take notice of her. More often than not, the poor girl had found herself wanting Randy to realize that she was with them, doing whatever he requested from her. She wanted him to be aware of her presence, to want to be with her, maybe even as more than friends. Having a crush on him was an understatement, Quinn knew she was falling hard for the Viper and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop herself.

Nothing mattered to him though, he wasn't interested in her, he was barely interested in having her around him anymore, but she wasn't about to give up on getting his attention. Something had to change eventually.

Lifting the bag containing her gear up onto her shoulder further, Quinn continued down the hall, searching out the location of her dressing room. She turned another corner and her eyes landed on the small group of people huddled in the hallway conversing, each man dressed in some form of ring gear and a cover-up, consisting of a t-shirt of sorts. Her gaze moved to the torso of the largest man and she straightened up, slowing down her pace as well. She met his own sparkling eyes and blushed at the handsome smile plastered on his face.

"Fancy meeting you here Quinn."

She couldn't help but feel a tiny bit better at just the sound of his voice. Lately, her self worth had been dwindling but there was something about the man that made her feel the teeniest, tiniest bit better about being alive. There was something about his accent and the tone he used when speaking to her that tugged at her heart the slightest little bit. She forced a smile back at Wade Barrett and relaxed her grip on her bag full of her gear, feeling it fall off her shoulder to rest in the crook of her elbow.

"Yeah, who knew you'd find a WWE Diva at a Smackdown taping." She joked back, closing the distance between them. She tossed a wave at Justin and Heath standing next to him before glancing at the fourth man, Zack Ryder, who was grinning like an idiot at her. His sunglasses, a bright orange colour for the frames, remained covering his eyes, his headband placed just right around his head to surround his spiked up hair.

"Quinn bro, how's it going?" Zack asked as he checked her out from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet, his head moving as he did so.

"Don't call me bro." She shot back at the Long Island native, the other three letting out a laugh at her statement.

It didn't take much for Zack Ryder to get the point but Quinn instantly felt a pang of regret as he dropped his shoulders and wandered away, knowing where he wasn't wanted. She knew how he felt, quite often she was in his position, but as much as she wanted to call out and tell him she was sorry for making him feel unwanted, her voice just refused to work. She let out a low grunt and turned her attention away from the sad retreating wrestler, debating what she was going to do; stay and converse with someone who seemed to genuinely want to be around her, or go after a guy who probably needed to be put in his place anyway.

"What's up with you and Rhodes?" Heath asked, breaking her out of her internal debate over Zack Ryder. Quinn stared at him, clearly confused as to what he was referring too, there was much more to his question than she could even begin to give him an answer too without specification. "Yesterday, you and him were having coffee together, are you two just friends or is there something going on between you two?"

"Um-"

"You don't have to answer him." Wade cut her off, sensing her uneasiness, but also knowing that Heath was crossing a line into her personal business. She swore though, that the look on Wade's face suggested maybe he wanted to know the answer as well.

"It's okay. We're just friends. He made it blatantly obvious that nothing would ever happen between us from the first time we ever spoke." She stated, trying to sound bubbly and happy.

"And you're okay with that? You don't want to be more than friends?" Heath continued to press, wanting to know as much as he possibly could about the strange, gorgeous girl.

"Nope. Cody's more like my girlfriend most of the time anyways." She nodded with a single forced chuckle. She swore that as soon as the words left her mouth, Wade seemed to relax a little bit. Perhaps he was more interested in her than she could have ever imagined.

"Does the same go for Dibiase and Orton?" Justin questioned, wondering how a likeable girl like Quinn ended up being friends with a pompous jerk like Randy Orton.

"They're just friends of mine." Quinn nodded, hoping that her tone didn't give away that she wanted to be more than friends with Randy.

Heath seemed satisfied with her answers as he retreated into silence, watching her carefully. Justin threw her a smile of his own and nodded his understanding at him. Stepping away from the girl, Heath and Justin turned around and began walking down the hall, leaving Quinn standing next to Wade, simply being able to watch as the uneasiness of being left alone with the larger man took over. She inhaled a deep breath, careful not to make it too obvious to Wade that she was a little nervous, and her eyes met his, a warm smile present on his face.

"Some friends of mine were heading out tonight after the taping for a few drinks…" He started, shifting his body slightly so that he was just a little bit closer to her.

"Oh, that sounds like fun." Quinn replied back, a hitch in her voice. She mentally prepared herself for the rejection she had faced so many times before in similar situations. Someone would make a statement about heading out somewhere but neglect to actually invite her, or make her feel like she was welcome.

She watched carefully as he raised his right hand up and rubbed the back of his neck. Quinn's lips dropped into a frown and she stepped to the side, getting ready to walk away before he had the chance to exclude her from his plans. She nodded at him and turned her shoulders away from him, hesitating as his fingers gingerly wrapped themselves around her forearm.

"Wait," he looked at her, her eyes met his, "I'd love for you to join us."

Quinn tried to suppress the large grin quickly spreading over her lips. She couldn't help but light up at his offer. After months of feeling like no one cared to have her around, someone invited her out. She wasn't about to spend another night alone in her hotel room crying.

"Yeah, absolutely." She beamed at him, her arm feeling cold where his fingers had just been as his hand moved away from her.

"Alright then. I'll come find you after your match."

Quinn simply nodded at him, not trusting her voice totally. She flashed him another small smile before stepping around him and continuing on her way to her dressing room, hoisting her bag back onto her shoulder as she did so. Wade watched her walk away, trying to contain the pleasant smile erupting on his own face. He dropped his gaze to the floor and shook his head, moving away from the place he stood, now making his way to his own dressing room.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX**_

It was her first scheduled match since the New Year had began. She wasn't necessarily a main eventing Diva but she was definitely one of the better girls on the roster, competing in the same league as Beth Phoenix and Natalya for the most part. Now, she waited inside the ring for Kelly Kelly to prance down the ramp, the crowd going absolutely insane for the Maxim model. Quinn just watched, alternating flicking each leg back to her butt, trying to get herself prepared for the match at hand.

Glancing backwards, Quinn looked at the announce panel, nodding her acknowledgement at Jerry 'The King' Lawler and the ever so annoying Michael Cole. She turned out whatever Cole was saying, most likely something degrading towards her, maybe even about the Diva's division as a whole was lacking massive amounts of talent, something that Quinn disagreed with greatly. It was full of decent talent, maybe not all of the talent was getting used to it's full potential but there were definitely girls on the roster that wrestled really well.

When the bell rung, signaling the start of the match, Quinn ran right for the blonde and wrapped her hands around her head, Kelly Kelly doing the same. The two of them moved in a circle, both gripping the others neck as they fought for dominance, to figure out who would take control. Quinn dropped the blonde to her knees before taking a fistful of her luscious blonde locks. Dragging the poor girl across the mat, Quinn let go of her and dropped an elbow into Kelly Kelly's chest, a loud scream of pain emanating from her lips.

A few more minutes of dominating the match, Quinn even going as far as to take a leap of the top rope to take down her opponent, and she was able to pin the younger blonde with ease. She stood up, flicked her hair out of her face and let the referee raise her arm in victory. The crowd seemed pretty split between cheering for her and booing for her. It was fairly obvious that Kelly Kelly was a crowd favourite, Quinn had known that going into the match and was somewhat expecting a mixed crowd reaction.

"Good match." Kelly Kelly whispered to Quinn as she rolled out of the ring, slowly making her way to her feet and struggling to walk on her own up the ramp.

Quinn basked in the cheers of the crowd for a few seconds longer before walking over to the ropes and climbing through, using the steel steps to flaunt her walk. Her first match since the beginning of the New Year was a much-needed success, Quinn feeling slightly better.

As soon as she stepped backstage, Quinn let out a huge sigh of relief. She definitely loved to be in front of a crowd, she liked it even more when she won her matches but she always felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders as soon as she was out of sight of the WWE Universe. She set her hands on her hips and looked around backstage, starting to walk towards the hallway to her dressing room.

With each footstep she took, a sound echoed in the open backstage area of the arena. She started to walk faster, trying to get to her dressing room to celebrate a good match by herself. At least if she was alone, she wouldn't have to feel embarrassed in front of other people and she _knew_ that Randy wouldn't have been impressed with her short Diva's match. He was hardly impressed by anything she did anymore.

"Quinn!"

Turning around at the sound of her name, Quinn fought back a smile. She waited for Wade to close the gap between him and her, his own smile lighting up his handsome features. She wasn't expecting him to wrap his arms around but he did, whispering his congratulations into her ear as he did so. She hesitantly hugged him back but took the gesture in stride, running her palms down his arms as he pulled away.

"Thanks Wade." She nodded, his arms moving away from her body completely. She took the opportunity to look him over now, a pair of jeans covered his legs now instead of him standing there in his ring gear. A white t-shirt hugged his upper body nicely and the casual shoes on his feet suggested that wherever he had invited her too wasn't a terribly fancy place at all.

"How soon can you be ready to go?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I can meet you somewhere in about twenty minutes if that's okay? I can meet you at the place if that's what you want too-"

"Could you meet us out in the parking lot then? White Honda, Drew said he would drive."

"Oh, so you don't need me to drive then?" She asked, somewhat shocked. Every other time that Randy had told her they were going out to a bar, she was always guilted into driving, after she had nearly begged and pleaded for him to invite her and let her come anyway.

"Not unless you want to." He replied, rather confused at her question.

"Alright, I'll meet you in the parking lot in about twenty minutes." She smiled.

"Sounds good." He nodded at her, she just looked back at him.

Without another word exchanged between the two of them, Quinn took off down the hallway in a jog. Her wrestling boot buckles jingled as her legs moved quickly, trying to get her body to her dressing room where she had a limited amount of time to shower and get ready for her night out.

Wade watched her go, trying to contain the smile on his face. He had only known the girl for a few days but she was already starting to grow on him. He found himself intrigued by her, wondering what her life was like or what she did in her spare time. He most definitely wanted to get to know her a lot better than he did. Quinn O'Reilly had him hooked.

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